We asked some insanely talented artists, creatives and makers to tell us about when they know they were going to pursue a creative career.
Chantel O’Brian
I’ve always been a big fan of cinema and would imagine me in different films and shows, whether it was MCU, a Tyler Perry Film, working with Ava Duvernay or even casting on a CW show. I decided to feed that hope in 2018 with my first acting workshop in New York with TSAW Acting workshop. Tasha Smith, who’s displayed herself to be an incredible actress, director and coach was a catalyst in me keeping this dream alive. After years of focusing on my pageant and coaching career, I returned to training in the field with classes and workshops. Read more>>
Tonio The Great
The first time that I knew I wanted to pursue music I was around 7-8 years old. I went to the studio for the first time with my older cousins and I was just amazed. I was writing and let them hear me rap- everyone went crazy. From that moment I told myself I wanted that same reaction from millions of fans one day. Read more>>
Marion Shaina
I first knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally when I was in middle school. I became obsessed with Taylor Swift. Through listening to her music and watching a crazy amount of her early career interviews, I began to realize that this was something a normal person could pursue if they wanted it badly enough. You didn’t have to be born into a famous family or a family of musicians to follow that path. Read more>>
Chloe Benitez
To be honest it probably started when I was three years old, in my first ballet mommy and me class. I fell in love with dance and dreamed of being a professional ballet dancer in New York City. While growing up I was introduced to many different styles of dance as well as drawing, painting and knitting. I continued my dance education at Orange County School of the Arts to then receiving a BFA in Contemporary Dance from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2015. Read more>>
Ben Bladon
I didn’t seriously consider a career path as an actor as a viable alternative until way later in life. That was something that in L.A. and New York did, and I never saw myself living in either one of those places, so it was never very realistic to me. I don’t have a theater background or anything like that. In my 20s and 30s, I became a vocalist in various punk rock bands (most fleeting, but one band was together here in Atlanta for over a decade). I never made any money from it, but it shows that I’ve always had a performer in me. Read more>>
Jeremy Miller
Although I have been creative and into music my entire life, prior to my freshman year in college I never realized it was even possible to do professionally…. especially an average dude from an average town. Read more>>
Laurie Carswell
I was teaching art full time and at the end of every semester I would question whether or not this was my work? I decided to take the leap out of the classroom and try working in a more active creative field where I could create and not just guide others in the creative process. Shortly after that I was commissioned to create a series of artworks that would be printed on cards—I could do anything and print it. Read more>>
Kimber Smith
After getting married in 2000 & graduating with an ART degree in 2001, I dabbled in many art forms: oil painting, watercolor, collage, & mosaic, as well as a couple of years of teaching art. A few years later when we started a family, I began to take on calligraphy jobs, an art medium that was conducive to life with babies and nap schedules! But as our family continued to grow, two things became clear to me: Read more>>
Anthony Mihaly
Growing up I wasn’t surrounded by many professional creatives or career artists. I knew plenty of hobbyists though, which left me thinking I had to stay on some middle ground, playing music always on the side, making records, touring here and there but always working house painting and service industry trades. The moment that I knew I was destined to make a living professionally playing music was during the recording of my latest album in 2020. Read more>>
Bizzy BalBoa
In my senior year of high school, I remember we had colleges visit our school and one of the colleges that stood out to me was the Art Institute of Atlanta. At the time, I didn’t consider actually applying to the school because I was also speaking to military recruiters and was becoming more interested in the thought of making money right away than jumping right back into school. A month after graduation I made the decision to apply to the Art Institute and once I was accepted that was the start of my inspiration to pursue music professionally. Read more>>
Keiani Taylor
When I was 10, I had my first best friend breakup. It was actually pretty overwhelming for my 10-year old self LOL. But, to cope I wrote a poem about the situation. I shared the poem with my mom and she was actually really into it. She said she could relate and that moment was life changing. I had connected with my mom in a way I never thought I could. I literally got addicted to just expressing my feelings and sharing it through poetry with people. I knew it was a gift God gave me, and I saw myself doing it for the rest of my life. Read more>>
Chris Widdop
I guess I’ve always known. As a kid I was always making up stories in my head, drawing pictures of characters and such, and acting out their adventures with neighborhood friends and kids from school. And as I got older, I just started to take those creative impulses more seriously, really sit down and do the work, flesh the characters out, put the stories onto paper, and truly bring it to life. Read more>>
Vice Souletric
I knew I wanted to be a creative ever since I was a child. I would always grab tape, recorders and create my own little stories and interview my brother and/or parents even after bad days. Lol I just like hearing my own voice I guess. I like creating my own world through my imagination. It’s something that I’ve always done. Read more>>
Curdy St. Pierre
A few year back I was asked to be part of a team regarding an online radio show, I was and still am an amateur writing so I think this would be something fun and challenging to do. Which it was. Figuring out topics getting guests arranging music the works. Due to mishandling and non communications I ended up leaving the production. Read more>>
Finnigen Rynehart
As cliché as it sounds, I knew what I wanted to do around the age of 6 or 7. I was always artistic from day one, but drawing and small crafts were not enough for me. Growing up on a large wooded farm, I had a lot of space and landscapes that could be explored. I wanted to create an entire world for myself. I was obsessed with it. I would build little bamboo weapons and masks and create music and traditions all while completely ignoring the real world around me. Read more>>
Montana McPherson
Since I was a young girl I’ve always been extremely artistic. From a very young age, I’ve been involved in fine arts programs. Including ballet, tap, choir and even orchestra. Stemming from the love of music and fine arts from my parents, I quickly developed a deep love for fine arts myself. Growing up we listened to the greats across the generations such as Aretha Franklin, Parliament, Anita Baker, Marvin Gaye, Mint Condition, Sade, and many many more! At the young age of 3 I sang my very first song “Nobody’s Supposed to be Here” by Deborah Cox, and there my family discovered my talent of singing & my love for music began to bud. Read more>>
Lily Clitour
I always loved performing ever since I was a little kid. My sister and cousin would put on Spice Girl concerts in our living room. My sister’s and cousins were always putting on plays for our family. I was in choir and theater while in school. Later in life I learned how to dance with fire fans and at parties I would perform. I would join the fire conclaves at regional burns. Read more>>
Tamura Billups
I knew i wanted to pursue a creative/ artistic path professionally after many years of experiencing people telling me how good I sounded when I sung songs. So many people used to tell me you should become a professional singer, so I decided to go for it and go in that direction. I also liked being around so many talented people creating and performing music all the time. Read more>>
Sarah Albisser
I was born in Switzerland in the mid seventies. Both of my parents love art and design. My father was an architect and now he is retired as a full time artist. Growing up I spent a lot of time in my dad’s studio, from the time I could walk I had a paint brush in my hand. Our home was filled with art and design furnitures. I started off as a dancer and choreographer until my late 20s but my injuries became really bad and I had to stop performing. From there, it was a natural thing to move into the visual arts. It was always something I loved but never had time to do. I always knew that I had to pursue a creative path. I can’t imagine life without creativity. Read more>>
Tim Adeyingbo
Growing up as a little kid in the early 2000s, I always knew I had a creative mindset because I used to mimic and design NBA Basketball courts, and also design CD covers with my Crayola crayons and colored pencils. At that moment, that was the spark that I knew I was going to be in the creative field which carried on with me in later years when I started pursuing other avenues in the creative field like Modeling, Creating a Luxury Shoe Brand, and Writing Books. Overall, pursuing a creative path started early for me. Read more>>
Wes B
Growing up, I always enjoy entertaining people. Whether it was through sports & athletic or Music, dance & performing. Being involved in show choir, marching band & drill team gave me the confidence I needed to shine underneath the lights at as an individual. It wasn’t until my sophomore year in college, playing on the football team is when I realized how sports & athletic was beginning to conflict schedules with my music performance shows. At this point I was force to have to step up & make a life changing decision. Read more>>
Presley Miller
I dreamed of being a musician since I was about 10 years old. I remember messing with EQ faders on my grandma’s radio pretending like I was mixing songs in a studio. My dream as a child was to set up a big stage in my front yard and put on a big concert for the neighborhood. I ended up using my parents’ garage to make a little studio while in was in high school and pursued music with every professional choice I made. Read more>>
Brayhia Marshall
My mother was a School Teacher and my father a Corrections Officer. When I was around the age of 5 or 6, we were playing a game that would soon become a tradition, Charades. My father asked me to perform a scene from this movie that required me to put on his motorcycle helmet, lay on the ground, lift-up the visor and state the line. I did it and my mom was able to guess the movie correctly. The joy and excitement I got from that moment is what has led me to wholeheartedly pursue my true passion. Read more>>
Rohan Prakash
I remember this moment clear as day – in August of 2010 I attended my first concert, which happened to be STS9 , Big Boi, The Disco Bicuits and Big Gigantic at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta. At that time I was 17 years old , living in Auburn, AL (where I grew up) and I was just finishing up high school. I was in a position in life where my future was uncertain. Going to this concert opened up a whole new perspective on life for me. Coming from a hip hop background – getting to see Big Boi live was a peak moment, Read more>>
Kierra Wooden
I pursued various creative/artistic paths. My most notable, in my opinion, was becoming an author and 3D artist/animator. Since I was 6 years old, I always knew I wanted to become an author. Books were an escape for me growing up, it was all I wanted for my birthdays and it was what inspired me to start writing my own little short stories. From middle school to high school I began writing poetry and that was my literary medium that just stuck with me. During the Christmas break ending my first semester of college in 2016, Read more>>
Yazid Smith
As a child, I knew I always wanted to be well known as a creative. I never knew what my niche would be because I was so multitalented, and I still am. I never limited myself. The crazy thing is; I thought I was going to pursue a music career. I remember vividly talking to my cousin on the house phone as a kid and having our own singing contests. We also use to write rap verses to YouTube instrumentals, share them with each other, and decide who had the better verse (I would always win of course). Read more>>
Erica Boozer
In high school, it seemed that every student had to “pick a lane”, so you could be a genius set to cure cancer, a thespian setting sights on fame, or a jock vying for an athletic scholarship. Having devoted majority of my adolescent and teen years to sports, my only option seemed to be the jock route, despite having aspirations of being involved in the theater scene…there was just simply not enough time to do both and be “the best”. This is where the resistance began. Read more>>
Khaliq ‘Liq”
I think I always new that I “wanted” to do something creative professionally, but it wasn’t until I was alot older that I actually saw that path as something I could actually take on. I grew up in Inglewood, I was always smart when it came to grades and test scores. When people see that at you from a young age, the consensus is never, “Oh go and do something creative to earn a living.” Its the classic, “Oh go be a doctor, or a lawyer, or a business person,” Read more>>
Oak Cliff EZ
I first started recording music around the age of 8 as a feature for a rap group that my brother started. At first, I actually didn’t care for making music; however, seeing how things came together for the finished product started to inspire me. I began working on music and improving my skills throughout years while also going to school, working jobs, etc. There have been many highs and lows – and even some points where I took time away from music to see how living a “normal” life felt. Read more>>